Make It Up Monday - Life In Lashes

Posted by Heather Coopersmith on November 06, 2016

As I’ve been writing about fascinating beauty trends from across the globe, I’ve become more and more interested in 'eyelash' history. The research inspired me to take a deeper look back to the history of lash beauty trends. I found some historically compelling lash moments.

Lashing in the Middle Ages

Fake Eyelashes have been around since the early 1900's but during the Middle Ages, there was a medieval tradition of plucking your eyelashes out! Yep. You read right! This sounds brutally painful to me but truth be told, this was the trend around the 1400's. At this time in Europe, the Church was very powerful and it declared that any type of hair shown in public was just too erotic. With this as the “norm,” meant that long foreheads were in fashion. Besides being so lovely, eyelashes are critical for eye protection and keeping the dirt out. Thank goodness that trend disappeared!

19th Century Creativity

Moving forward to the 19th century, long lashes were desirable and to achieve that look, people got very creative even if it meant pain. One that stands out was an operation that transplanted hair from your head to your eyelids!! Cosmetic surgery like this sounds a little crazy but this was actually a beauty trait that a lot of women didn't want to live without. Always at the center of beauty and fashion, during this time Paris was, of course, one of the places that this procedure was most popular. These examples of beauty extremes became a thing of the past when False Lashes were developed and became a standard in the early 1900's. Over time, more and more actresses began wearing them on-screen making lashes more visible and therefore, popular. Salons soon started carrying them making this accessory very accessible to the public. False lashes became more of a sensation during the 1930's with Vogue promising ladies could get “bewildering length” and then, when the model Twiggy came into play in the 1960's, well, you know what LASH fun that was?!?! The world of eyelash beauty has come a LONG way. Nowadays, the “no mascara” LOOK is very popular with eyelash extensions. And, strip lashes are available at every turn, offering an awesome and easy alternative for creating a different look every day. Even nicely shaped and fuller eyebrows can be achieved with brow extensions. Seems like this is the era of customized everything! We want the easy 'no fuss' look, which actually takes a lot of work but isn't so obvious. In any case, YOU DO YOU, however you choose. We applaud your Lash and Brow Obsessions. :) They are here to stay!